Civil Right to Counsel Initiative

The Civil Right to Counsel Initiative is a joint project of Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality at Seattle University School of Law and the Committee for Indigent Representation and Civil Legal Equality (CIRCLE) at the Northwest Justice Project.

The Initiative was inaugurated by a Civil Right to Counsel Symposium held at Seattle University in February 2010, which brought together a variety of civil right to counsel stakeholders including academics, legal aid practitioners, judges, bar leadership, and legislators to engage in a discussion about the civil right to counsel landscape nationally and in Washington State. The substance of the symposium focused specifically on the civil right to counsel for low income individuals as part of the much broader access to justice framework.

Most recently, Korematsu Center Faculty Fellow Lisa Brodoff wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the Korematsu Center in Weems v. Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, Div II Court of Appeals. The brief argues that appellants in the administrative hearing process who have disabilities that prevent them from self-representation are entitled to counsel as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and Washington Law Against Discrimination.